Power Industry

Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over.

Half of U.S. electricity is generated from coal.

9 out of every 10 tons of coal mined each year in the U.S. is used for domestic electricity generation.

Coal is the most affordable source of power fuel per million Btu, averaging less than one-quarter the price of petroleum and natural gas.

There are approximately 600 power plants (1,600 units) and 1,100 manufacturing facilities using coal in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Coal accounts for about 33 percent of U.S. total energy production and 22 percent of total energy consumption.

Power plants being built today emit 90 percent less pollutants (SO2, NOx, Particulates, mercury) than the plants they replace from the 1970s, according the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Regulated emissions from coal-based electricity generation have decreased overall by nearly 40 percent since the 1970s while coal use has tripled, according to government statistics.

U.S. coal operations have reclaimed more than 2.2. million acres of mined land over the past 25 years.

Since 1978, U.S. coal mines have paid more than $7 billion to reclaim mines that were abandoned prior to laws requiring reclamation.

Approximately five million acres of land have been mined in the U.S. to produced coal; and most of the land not under active mining has been or is being reclaimed to the standards set by law.

CLIENT COMMENTS

I want to thank ASGCO for the awesome training last week. Jeff, you did a great job and I learned...